Converting
How to Scan an ID Card to PDF
Scan an ID card to PDF with your phone — front and back into one file. Free, in-browser, nothing uploaded. Ready for KYC, bank and HR forms.
Hamza M.
PDF Workflow Editor
Tenancy applications, bank onboarding, employer checks, KYC portals — most of them ask for a copy of your ID, and most accept a PDF with each side of the card, front and back, in the same file. The Scan PDF tool turns your phone camera into that scanner: capture the front, add a page, capture the back, and download one PDF. It runs in the browser and uploads nothing.
Front and back belong in one file
A lone photo of the front gets rejected at verification desks more often than anything else — the person checking needs to see that both sides exist and match. Scanning the front as one page and the back as another, in the same PDF, is the format most banks, landlords and HR portals actually accept. It is straightforward, and it keeps the two sides together automatically.
Scan an ID card, step by step
- 1Open the Scan PDF tool on your phone and start a new scan.
- 2Place the card on a dark, matte surface under even light, and capture the front — the camera finds the card and straightens it before saving.
- 3Add a new page and capture the back of the card the same way.
- 4Check both pages in the preview, trim or re-shoot if a side is crooked, then download the two-page PDF.
The two pages become one PDF file — front on page 1, back on page 2 — ready to attach to exactly the form that asked for "a copy of both sides".
Getting a clean capture
- Shoot under even light and avoid a window or lamp in the background, which can wash out the card.
- Use a flat dark surface so the automatic edge detection has a clear boundary to find.
- Keep the camera square to the card; if the shot comes out at an angle, straighten it in the preview before continuing.
- Zoom mentally, not physically — get close and check the text is readable at a quick glance.
Already have photos of both sides?
You do not have to scan live. If the front and back are already photos on your phone, add them both as pages in the same scan session (the tool accepts images as pages too) and export once — you still end up with the single two-page PDF the form wants, without holding the card up again.
Do it now
Scan PDF
Scan documents with your camera and save as PDF. It runs in this browser tab — your file is not uploaded anywhere.
Open Scan PDFFrequently asked questions
Can one PDF contain both sides of my ID?+
Yes. Capture the front as page one, add a page and capture the back as page two, then download — you get a single PDF whose first page is the front and second page is the back, which is what most forms expect.
Do you scan in black and white or color?+
The camera capture keeps the card as it is. For an ID, keep the natural color — some verification systems flag over-processed, grayed images, so a clean color capture is the safer choice.
What if my ID has a reflective surface?+
Reposition the card so the light is not bouncing straight back at the camera, and tilt the camera slightly off perpendicular if glare persists. Even, diffused light and a matte surface make the biggest difference.
Is my ID uploaded anywhere?+
No. The scan runs in your browser and the file is processed on your device — your card never leaves your phone, which is why it is safe to scan identity documents this way.
Do I need front and back in the same file?+
Almost always, yes — a verification desk checking a lone front image cannot see the back. Sending one two-page PDF is the accepted format for banks, landlords and HR portals.